Combined tongue-holder and saliva-ejector



April 15, 1958 s. G. A. DAHL 2,830,371

COMBINED TONGUE-HOLDER AND SALIVA-EJECTOR Filed Jan. 30, 1956 INVENTOR.

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United States Patent COMBINED TONGUE-HOLDER AND SALIVA-EJECTOR Sven Gustav Adolf Dalll, Nasby Park, Sweden Application January 30, 1956, Serial No. 562,294

Claims priority, application Sweden February 4, 1955 Claims. (CI. 32-33) My invention relates to a combined tongue-holder and saliva-ejector, and more particularly to a dental appliance for holding a patients tongue away from the teeth under operation and, at the same time, for removing by suction saliva and other fluids collecting in the patients mouth during dental operations.

Appliances of the above-mentioned kind are previously known per se and generally comprise a metallic main tube forming the exterior portion of the device and connected, at its lower end, over a flexible hose with a vacuum source to which the saliva is drained. At its upper end, the main tube is bent at approximately 90 and forms the interior portion of the device which is provided with a number of perforations through which the saliva is collected and ejected. The tongue holding function of the appliance has been attained either in said interior tube forming one or more forks or loops for depressing the tongue, or supporting a plate of much the same kind as the corresponding part of an ordinary simple tongueholder that acts to bring the tongue aside. Independent of' the shape of said interior portion it has hitherto, as far as I am aware, always been rigidly connected with the main portion. However, it is of particular importance in the performance of a device of the above-identified type and, of all tongue-holders, that the pressure exerted on the tongue does not irritate or pain the patient. As a matter of fact, due to the failure of the existing devices to satisfy that condition, it has been entirely impossible to use tongue-holders when treating many patients.

Accordingly, the principal object of my invention is to provide a combined tongue-holder and saliva ejector that is capable of holding the patients tongue without causing pain or irritation thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the above character that is easy to manufacture and does comprise but a few parts.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of the above-mentioned kind that is so designed and arranged that it can easily be cleansed and sterilized.

Other objects of my invention and features thereof will appear more clearly from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which one preferred embodiment thereof is depicted diagrammatically in a side elevation view.

Referring now to the drawing, reference numeral 1 designates the main tube of the device which is suitably constituted by a straight metal tube of chromium-plated brass or the like. At its lower end 2 said tube 1 could be provided with annular grooves or equivalent means for facilitating its connection with a flexible hose (not shown) communicating with a suitable vacuum source generating the suction effect necessary for evacuation of saliva from the patients mouth. At its upper end tube 1 forms a smoothly curved portion 3 which opens into a perforated hose forming the saliva collecting means of the device and suitably consisting of a flexible material. Slidable along the main tube 1 is a chin-plate 5, adjust- "ice able in difierent positions with respect to the tube by means of a locking screw 4 the head of which is preferably knurled round its periphery.

Close to the point where the straight portion of tube 1 passes over into the curved part 3 there is attached to it by means of welding, soldering, brazing or any other suitable method of fixation a comparatively thin, resilient wire 6 which is bent in the same direction as tube portion 3 and substantially parallel therewith. At its opposite end, the wire 6 is bent by approximately thereby forming a U-shaped loop portion 8 which terminates in a nipple 9 inserted in and tightly closing the other end of hose 10.

A plane or slightly curved member 7 of essentially blade-shaped contour and consisting of metal or a synthetic substance is attached to the wire 6 near its bent end portion 8 and forms the tongue-holder blade of the device. In accordance with one feature of my invention, the axes of tube 1, hose 3, and wire 6 as well as blade 7 are all arranged in substantially one and the same vertical plane, the wire 6 being more remote from the free end 2 of the tube 1 than is the hose 10.

As already mentioned above, the perforated salivacollecting hose 10 is preferably made of a flexible substance, e. g. rubber, a synthetic resin or the like. However, it also falls within the scope of my invention to use, instead of hose 10, a metal tube having the desired flexibility properties In case hose 10, besides being flexible, also is resilient in the sense that, after having been deformed by bending with respect to wire 6 as well as to tube 1, it re-assumes by itself an initial position in which it is essentially parallel with the wire 6, the U-shaped wire portion 8 can be dispensed with so that both the wire 6 and the hose 10 terminate in free ends. Under the just mentioned conditions it is, of course, feasible to close or constrict the orifice of the hose by other means than the nipple 9 described in this illustrative embodiment of the invention.

When using the device hereinabove described, parts 710 are inserted in the patients mouth so that his lower teeth become located under the curved tube portion 3, whereupon the chin-plate 5 is adjusted along the main tube 1 until it firmly rests against the under-side of the patients chin in which position it may be locked by means of the screw 4. Due to the fact that the tongue-holder blade 7 and the saliva-suction hose 10 have a certain, though restricted, range of movement mutually as well as relatively to the main tube 1 they are, to a certain amount, capable of following movements of those oral parts whereby they do not exert any painful or irritating pressure thereon.

Moreover, the hose 10 forming the saliva collecting means of the device is readily exchangeable which feature is of great advantage from an hygienic point of view. It is to be observed that the lay-out of the appliance according to my invention involves another considerable advantage as far as hygienic demands are concerned. Preferably, the diameter of the wire 6 equals the thickness of the plate 7 so that the joint between those parts can be smooth and even without the abrupt changes which are unavoidable in tongue-holders of previously known types.

Although, only one specific embodiment of my invention has been shown and described, it will be understood that it is but illustrative and that several modifications, especially concerning materials and dimensions, may be made therein without departing from the scope and spirit of my invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a dental appliance comprising saliva ejecting and tongue holding means, in combination, an exterior tube for communication with a suction source and with an interior saliva collecting means for draining saliva from a patients mouth and evacuating it through said exterior tube, said collecting means being of flexible material and of tubular shape with openings in its wallsadapted to eject saliva, and tongue holding means secured to said exterior tube and supporting a tongue holding blade, the

means secured to said exterior tube being a resilient wire of approximately the same diameter as the thickness of said blade and forming at its end remote from said exterior tube a U-shaped loop portion' secured to the free end of said tubular saliva collecting means.

2. In a dental appliance comprising saliva ejecting and tongue holding means, in combination, an exterior tube for communication with a suction source and with an interior saliva collecting means for draining saliva from a patients mouth and evacuating it through said exterior tube, said collecting means being of flexible material and of tubular shape with openings in its walls adapted to eject saliva, and tongue holding means secured to said exterior tube and supporting a tongue holding blade, the means secured to said exterior tube being a resilient Wire of approximately the same diameter as the thickness of said blade and forming at its end remote from said exterior tube a U-shaped loop portion secured to the free end of said tubular saliva collecting means, said exterior tube comprising a straight portion, a chin-plate being slidably mounted thereon for adjustable fixation in different positions therealong.

3. A saliva ejecting and tongue holding dental appliance comprising an exterior tube adapted to be connected to a suction source through a hose, saliva collecting means positionable within a patients mouth and connected to said tube, said means being composed of a 4 flexible material of tubular configuration and having a plurality of openings therein, and tongue holding means including a blade supported by a resilient wire secured to said tube.

4. A saliva ejecting and tongue holding dental appliance comprising an exterior tube adapted to communicate via a hose to a suction source, saliva collecting means composed of flexible material and of tubular shape, and being positionable within the interior of a patients mouth, and tongue holding means including a rigid blade, said holding means including a resilient Wire having approximately the same diameter as the thickness of said blade.

5. A dental appliance for use with a vacuum source comprising a rigid tubular member connectable at one end thereof to the vacuum source through a hose, a flexible tubular apertured member connected to the other end of said rigid tubular member and being adapted to be positioned within a patients mouth to effect removal of the saliva therefrom, a flexible wire connected to said other end of said rigid tubular member, a rigid blade affixed to said wire, said wire and said blade being adapted to be positioned within a patients mouth for holding the patients tongue in a particular position, and a chin rest slidably mounted on said rigid member for engaging the underside of the patients chin to thereby effect painless operation of said flexible apertured member and said flexible wire and said blade members. 

